Field of the Technology
The invention relates to the field of ordering, manufacturing, billing and documenting the process of customized orthodontic and dental appliances.
Description of the Prior Art
In the orthodontic laboratory, prescriptions have been traditionally provided to the lab with a graphical representation of the design of the appliance used for treatment. A typical paper prescription is filled out, with a hand drawn design and sent to the lab with a dental impression or cast for fabrication. Once received, the patient information is entered into a database and the case is scheduled for the design review. A designer reviews the paper prescription and makes any needed modifications for the technicians, who will be making the appliance and for the billing department to bill for the parts and services rendered in response to the prescription.
Once the appliance has been designed and then fabricated, the billing department makes a copy of the prescription and manually bills out the appliance. Since each appliance is made up of multiple parts with very specific designs, the bill is detailed and manually broken down to illustrate the parts of the retainer. The paper prescriptions are then filed and stored away for reference.